Daring Dive

“I double dog dare you,”

my best friend yelled up the

ladder to the high board

 

We were visiting my father

and spending a hot

summer afternoon at

the local pool

in the town where he was working

 

She had just executed

Her very first “dive”

From the high board

 

Both of us were proficient

Divers from the low board

At our own city pool

 

But…

 

The high board was just

For jumping and making

The biggest possible splash

 

We were about 13

That summer

Maybe 12

I forget

 

But…

 

I could not let

Her do something

I had yet to do

Besides the high board

Was much lower

Than the one at home

 

Walking to the end

I gave the board a

Little test bounce

My friend had just

Walked to the end

And dove off

 

Not my plan…

I had to one up

Her with that

“double dog” dare

 

I could do a perfect

Swan dive from our

Low board

But…

Could never get

The height to execute

A perfect jack-knife

This board with

The perfect height

For that dive

 

And…

 

My friend could

Do neither of these dives

 

I looked back and down

On her at the bottom

Ladder rung and said,

“Watch this!”

 

Walking to the mid=point

On the board where I

Would be if diving

From my familiar low board

I took my steps,

Bounced on the end

Got my height and

In mid-air touched

My toes in the perfect

13-year-old version

of a jack-knife

opened out and entered

the water board straight

and splash less

 

popping out of the

water I looked at

her open mouth and

asked, “How was that?

Did I meet your dare?”

 

she ignored me and

ran off the end of

that board and landed

with a huge splash in

the perfect 13-year-old

Cannon ball…

 

Copyright © 2015 Annie – Original Poetry
Always…I wish you peace, joy and happiness, but most of all I wish you Love.
As Ever, Annie

Today’s Poem of the Day prompt was to write a ‘dare’ poem.